A Breakout clone (also known as a Breakout-style game,[1]block-breaking game, brick buster, or ball-and-paddle game) is a sub-class of the "bat-and-ball" genre.[2][3] The genre is named for the dynamics of the player-controlled block, called a "bat" or a "paddle", upon which the game is based, which hits a ball towards another player's bat or different objects such as colored tiles (called a "brick"). The term brick buster, coined in the early 2000s, mostly refers to more modern games.[citation needed]

Breakout-style games are characterized by the addition of a wall of blocks or similar objects that the player chips away at with the ball as part of the main gameplay.[1] Since the release of the original Breakout arcade game in 1976, and Super Breakout two years later,[4] there have been many clones and updates for various platforms. The profusion and notability of such games has been enough for them to also be referred to by some as a genre in their own right.[1] Among the cloners was Breakout designer Steve Wozniak, who wrote Little Brick Out, a software version for the Apple II of his own hardware game.[5]

Breakout clones' status as a genre is slightly more established in Japan than in North America.[citation needed]Block kuzushi (ブロック崩し burokkukuzushi, literally block destruction) is the name given in Japan to these games, while casse-briques (literally brick breaker) is the name given in France to these games. A number of block kuzushi games were released in Japan under the title Block Kuzushi, including members of D3 Publisher's Simple series and a Color TV Game system by Nintendo. However, this is a generic name referring to the genre (similar to a tennis game being called Tennis). The games titled Block Kuzushi are all distinct games and should not be considered as a series.

In 1986 Arkanoid revitalized the concept by adding power-ups and a more textured, layered feel to the visuals. Many Breakout clones since then have been styled after Arkanoid.